Image courtesy of Mike Espy Collection, Congressional and Political Research Center, University Libraries, Mississippi State University

ESPY, Alphonso Michael (Mike), a Representative from Mississippi; born in Yazoo City, Miss., November 30, 1953; B.A., Howard University, Washington, D.C., 1975; J.D., University of Santa Clara Law School, California, 1978; attorney with Central Mississippi Legal Services, 1978-1980; assistant secretary of state, chief, Mississippi Legal Services, 1978-1980; assistant secretary of Public Lands Division, 1980-1984; assistant State attorney general, 1984-1985; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundredth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1987, until his resignation January 22, 1993, having been appointed Secretary of Agriculture in the Cabinet of President William J. Clinton; Secretary of Agriculture, 1993-1994.